Dubai Festival of Light to illuminate Downtown Dubai

A spectacular illumination of Downtown Dubai in March next year will mark the launch of the Dubai Festival of Light.

DUBAI // The landmarks of Downtown Dubai will become spectacular illuminations when the Dubai Festival of Light launches next year.

The event, from March 20 to 29, is a collaboration between a developer, Emaar Properties, and the French city of Lyon, where the world renowned Lumieres de Lyon is held.

Held in December every year, the French city’s celebration of light has turned into a tourist attraction with more than 100 international artists invited to take part each year.

The Dubai Festival of Lights will aim to re-create the French event with energy-efficient lighting, used across the 120-hectare Downtown Dubai development.

Landmarks such as Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall will be given brilliant new facades of festive lighting.

Other landmarks to be lit up include the Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, the Dubai Fountain, Souk Al Bahar, The Address Downtown and The Palace Downtown hotels, as well as Burj Plaza and Emaar Square.

Several artists will be commissioned to design the lighting, with organisers promising “an extraordinary celebration of artistic creativity and light installations on a scale never experienced before in the region”.

“The city of Lyon has set a global benchmark in festive lighting and we are honoured to partner with them to bring the world’s finest lighting concepts to Dubai,” said Ahmad Al Matrooshi, the managing director of Emaar Properties.

“The celebratory lighting for each building and the Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard in Downtown Dubai will be dramatically different, creating an unmatched visual splendour, adding to its appeal as the must-visit tourism destination.”